BURNABY Mayor Derek Corrigan on Thursday slammed the National Energy Board for ruling that Kinder Morgan can bypass the City of Burnaby bylaws in order to perform pipeline construction work.

The NEB issued a letter and order. These documents can be viewed here.

Corrigan said: “We believe that this is an abuse of federal powers, and City staff are shocked by the NEB’s decision, as City staff have been reviewing Kinder Morgan’s construction applications in good faith, focusing both on citizen safety and mitigation of environmental damage.”

He added: “The application process is the same one that hundreds of companies are required to engage in with Burnaby every year, but the National Energy Board has chosen to exempt Kinder Morgan from this very important requirement, in spite of the potential environmental, social and financial consequences.”

The National Energy Board has not yet released the reasons for their decision.